20w50 hydro oil?

Met a guy at the shop today who said the Tecumseh factory rep told him his hydro gear transmission needed synthetic 20w50 but he can't find it anywhere. What's the difference between that and 20w50 synthetic motor oil? Btw-it's a Murray lawn tractor, I didn't have the heart to tell him it would nake a great boat anchor. Regardless, I'd still like to know what the difference between the two is.

I am not sure what you are comparing to either but I know that alot of hydros run on 20w 50 or comparable weight synthetic like Mobil 1 or Amsoil.
I know that some of the gear boxes also run on a 80w-90 blend of synthetic also.
I have used this oil in my Walkers since 1998 and have not had a problem. Walker actually started putting synthetic in the mowers in 99 or 2000.

20W50 synthetic can be found at virtually any auto parts store, walmart, etc., ect. As with Scrapper, I don't know what you'er comparing in your sentence ---- "What's the difference between that and 20w50 synthetic motor oil?"

The two times you should never worry is when you can control the outcome and when you can't.

Is 20w50 synthetic motor oil used in hydros? I did a google search on hydro fluids and there are a tremendous number of applications and products that are intended for specific applications. Could this guy go to Wal-Mart and get 20w50 off the shelf and put it in his hydro?

I believe the question you are asking is what is the difference between motor oil and transmission fluid? There is a huge difference and you can't swap one with the other. I will say however some of manufacturers recommend motor oil in their hydro systems.

I did a search for mobil 20w50 synthetic and came up with a lot of hits including their own website but, only found 15w50. I use CASTROL reguler 20w50 along with LUCAS in my truck and I'm sure I picked up some CASTROL synthetic 20w50 one time by mistake.

If you are ask what is the difference between synthetic and non-synthetic, it is the ability to hand heat. Synthetics can handle higher temperature ranges. Petroleum based oil will break down. If there in no oil cooler you have some very temperature ranges in the hydro pumps.